October 1, 1995 | Todd Boyd, Todd Boyd is a professor of critical studies at the USC School of Cinema-Television

Envision for a moment a key scene in the cult hit film "The Mack." We are in a rather generic Oakland barbershop, circa 1973, surrounded by nattily dressed gentlemen of leisure, who are adorned in the haute couture of Elaganza, the Jean-Paul Gaultier of the ghetto, purchased from that citadel of sartorial excellence, Flagg Brothers, which offers styles even Barney's cannot compete with.

October 1, 1995 | Todd Boyd, Todd Boyd is a professor of critical studies at the USC School of Cinema-Television

Envision for a moment a key scene in the cult hit film "The Mack." We are in a rather generic Oakland barbershop, circa 1973, surrounded by nattily dressed gentlemen of leisure, who are adorned in the haute couture of Elaganza, the Jean-Paul Gaultier of the ghetto, purchased from that citadel of sartorial excellence, Flagg Brothers, which offers styles even Barney's cannot compete with.

Vonetta McGee, an actress whose big-screen heyday during the blaxploitation era of the 1970s included leading roles in "Blacula" and "Shaft in Africa," has died. She was 65. McGee died Friday at a hospital in Berkeley after experiencing cardiac arrest and being on life support for two days, said family spokeswoman Kelley Nayo. Although McGee had been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma at age 17, Nayo said, her death was not related to the disease. McGee was described as "one of the busiest and most beautiful black actresses" by Times movie reviewer Kevin Thomas in 1972, the year she appeared opposite Fred Williamson in the black action movie "Hammer," and had starring roles in the crime-drama "Melinda" and the horror film "Blacula."

Director Michael Campus vividly recalls the reaction to his film "The Mack" from the opening-night audience 40 years ago in Oakland. The film, starring Max Julien as the charismatic pimp Goldie and Richard Pryor as his friend Slim, had shot in the Bay Area city. "The first scene came on with Richie and Max and - I am not exaggerating - the whole audience stood up and started screaming back at the screen," Campus said. "They never sat down. No one had shown that world - no one had portrayed the black underworld.

"Def Jam's How to Be a Player" is a rambling, shambling, good-natured comedy that tries to have fun with unbridled male sexual prowess while making sure its hero gets an obligatory comeuppance at the very last moment. However, by then we have every reason to be confident that Bill Bellamy's fast-talking sexual superman Dray Jackson will manage to handle his trusting steady girlfriend, Lisa (Lark Voorhies), when she at last catches him with another woman.

A few months ago, Michael Campus, the director of the classic 1973 blaxploitation film "The Mack," was having dinner with Snoop Dogg when the lanky rapper started acting out scenes from the movie. "He did everybody's dialogue," Campus says. Def Jam's Russell Simmons offered "The Mack" star Max Julien $10,000 for the flamboyant coat he wore in the film. "Ten- and 11-year-old kids right now know the lines from 'The Mack,' " Julien says.

"Hustle & Flow" abounds with all the ingredients of a terrific popular entertainment. Writer-director Craig Brewer first of all cares deeply for his characters, with the result that each one emerges as a distinctive, involving individual, and this care extends from the film's casting down to such details as the gold teeth sported by one of its stars.

"The Mack"--the 1973 blaxploitation classic--may be back. If producers Doug McHenry and George Jackson have their way, Goldie the pimp will go before the cameras in '90s garb--perhaps by the end of the year. Eyeing a hip-hop culture heavily influenced by that imagery and tremendous African American want-to-see, the duo--like a host of others in Hollywood's creative community--is drawing inspiration from the genre.

With the release of the "Shaft" remake today, there's bound to be another blast of nostalgia for the so-called "blaxploitation" genre of the early '70s. Keenen Ivory Wayans' "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka!" (1988) sent it up affectionately, never forgetting its ridiculous limitations. Quentin Tarantino's strangely convoluted "Jackie Brown" (1997)--"Coffy" meets Elmore Leonard--reminded us of it again.